Oklahoma has officially exited the pursuit of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) following the failure of a crucial bill in the State Senate.
On April 15, the Oklahoma Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee voted 6-5 to reject House Bill 1203, referred to as the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act.
A significant factor leading up to the vote was Senator Christi Gillespie’s change in stance. She initially intended to oppose the bill but later decided to support it after receiving feedback from her constituents. However, her shift was not sufficient to alter the vote’s outcome.
The failure of the bill occurred despite earlier positive momentum in the state’s House of Representatives, where it was approved with a commanding 77-15 vote.
The initiative sought to empower the state treasurer to invest public funds into Bitcoin and selected stablecoins. However, as reported by CryptoSlate, currently only Bitcoin meets the bill’s criteria of having a $500 billion market cap, with its value hovering around $1.6 trillion.
With Oklahoma’s withdrawal, it has been removed from the list of states actively considering Bitcoin reserves, joining Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania, where similar proposals have either stalled or collapsed.
Momentum for Bitcoin reserves persists
In contrast, 21 other states are continuing their initiatives, with some having multiple active legislative proposals.
As per Bitcoin Laws, Arizona, New Hampshire, and Texas are at the forefront of efforts to integrate Bitcoin into public finance.
Presently, there are 117 pro-Bitcoin bills under consideration in the US, with 47 directly linked to Strategic Bitcoin Reserve projects across 26 states.
Conversations surrounding Bitcoin reserves are also gaining momentum at the federal level. Bo Hines, the Executive Director of the Presidential Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, has confirmed that the government is exploring funding mechanisms for its anticipated Bitcoin reserve.
These mechanisms include utilizing tariff revenue and revaluing gold-backed Treasury certificates to support a Bitcoin reserve without increasing the federal budget.
